The present disclosure relates generally orthodontic devices and assemblies. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an assembly applied to a patient's teeth or repositioning the patient's teeth through the application of modest force on out-of-position, or out of occlusion teeth so that the out-of-position teeth are moved from their initial position to a final position.
Repositioning teeth for aesthetic or other functional or hygiene purposes is generally accomplished through the use of various orthodontic devices and assemblies which are typically termed “appliances” in the art. Traditional braces are still widely used and include a variety of components, such as brackets, archwires, ligatures, elastics bands and O-rings. Attaching the components to a patient's teeth is a time-consuming and tedious process requiring multiple sessions between a patient and orthodontist. The use of fixed oral appliances also mean that more diligent brushing and flossing is needed for proper dental hygiene. Higher discomfort levels than aligner or removable appliance and restriction of certain kind of foods is also a negative for fixed orthodontic treatment, such as braces. Given the numerous meetings between patient and orthodontist, discomfort to the wearer, and some emergencies with poking wire or broken brackets, the experience of orthodontic treatment with braces can be unpleasant.
Before bonding braces to a patient's teeth, an orthodontist will take x-rays, perform a clinical exam and evaluation, and subsequently take photographs and the like of the patient's teeth and possibly jaw structure. A mold of the patient's teeth may also be made, or a digital impression may be captured on a computer via a digital scanner, so that the orthodontist can use it in conjunction with the x-rays to formulate a treatment strategy. The orthodontist then schedules multiple meetings with the patient to put attach the fixed orthodontic components onto the patient's teeth and assemble them in an initial position.
At the initial brace bonding appointment, brackets and other holding components may be bonded to the patient's teeth. This is accomplished by first by a simple prophylaxis followed by treating the exterior surfaces of selected teeth with a weak acid in order to optimize the adhesion properties of the teeth surfaces for the brackets and bands that are to be bonded to them. The brackets and bands are then cemented to the patient's teeth using a suitable bonding dental material which holds the appliance components in place through the course of treatment.
Generally, an archwire, which can be constructed of a nickel titanium (nitinol) alloy is used to provide a straightening force on the patient's teeth during the initial phases of treatment. The archwire shape and size progression from nitinol to stainless steel is at the discretion of the treating orthodontist. The archwire is passed through the brackets over the patient's teeth. It is sized to stretch over the patient's non-straight teeth and when tightened, the archwire exerts a force on the selected teeth to incrementally move them in alignment with other teeth and in accordance with the plan of treatment. As the selected teeth move toward their proper alignment, slack develops in the archwire. As slack develops the ends of the archwire can extend past the last bracket, or tube, installed on the patient's teeth, and the free end(s) of the archwire can cause cuts or discomfort. Accordingly, as the patient's teeth straighten, additional visits to the orthodontist are required to adjust the archwire. In some instances, the visit has an emergency nature that is required to alleviate the patient's discomfort. In addition, braces using exterior brackets also tend to interfere with a patient's ability to brush, floss, and perform other dental hygiene.
There are aligner-based system currently in use which accomplish tooth movement using multiple plastic aligners. One such system is known in the trade as the “Invisalign System”. This system uses a series of sets of individual, removable plastic trays (called aligners), each of which is designed to exert a slight force on a selected set of a patient's teeth to move then from an initial mal occlusion and non-ideal configuration toward a final straightened and desired orthodontic configuration. These aligners are changed usually every 2 weeks, or at an interval recommended by the orthodontist. The advantage to these type of systems lies in the removable nature of the aligners, as oral hygiene is easy to maintain and there are no food restrictions. The aligners are also clear and less noticeable and more comfortable as the teeth movement forces are not as severe as braces. Almost no emergency situations arise as patients can remove these from their mouth during eating, at any social event, etc. As the alignment movement progresses, different aligners are used with the patient. The Invisalign system and other aligner-based treatments often take longer than the traditional fixed wire brace system to correct initial crowding or rotations of teeth if crowding and rotations are moderate to severe.
Other disadvantages of aligner-based systems occur in that the patient's teeth (mostly the lateral incisors in the upper arch and the lower incisors) lose tracking of the aligners due to their shape and size, and new impressions or digital dental scans are needed during mid treatment if patient's aligners are not fitting well. It is also hard to extrude teeth; i.e., to bring teeth toward the biting surface from the gum surface using such a system, as no wires attached to selected teeth are utilized and hence, it is difficult to develop an ideal extrusion force on a selected tooth. In fact, aligner systems accomplish their goals, but it takes an extensive time period and a number of trays to extrude teeth, correct rotations and resolve tooth crowding that is moderate to severe.
Aligners have other problems when one or more loose teeth are encountered within the tooth tray, as the aligner is unable to supply the needed constant alignment force. In such instances, multiple impressions of the patient's teeth may be required to monitor the amount of tooth movement and achieve ideal results. This often increases the orthodontic treatment time. Consequently, it is not uncommon for orthodontists to use fixed braces initially or during the certain phase of orthodontic treatment for 3-6 months or more of orthodontic treatment to establish final occlusion due to the same reasons.
The present disclosure is therefore directed to a less complicated and more efficient orthodontic system including assemblies that minimize patient discomfort and which are more easily installed in a patient.